Residents of Innamincka will have to wait until early 2012 for the commissioning of a geothermal power plant, set to replace diesel generators as their power source.

The geothermal company, Geodynamics, plans to develop a one-megawatt power plant to supply the town's 12 residents and prove that it can harness hot-rock energy for general use.

An explosion at a well that was to power the plant delayed commissioning last year and managing director, Gerry Groves-White, says recent rains and flooding have halted work until June. "But as those floods recede and we're watching it daily we will look for our opportunities to start earlier," he said. "What I can offer them is now certainty that by early 2012 we will be powering up the transmission lines into Innamincka.